How to build an email list for free

Are you looking to learn how to build an email list for free? In this blog post, I will walk you through 11 ways to promote your lead magnet, so that you can grow your email list for free!

How to build an email list for free – getting started 

The best way to grow an email list is by offering subscribers something of value in exchange for their email address, also called a lead magnet (or an opt-in or a freebie). 

So in order to get started building an email list for free, you will need:

• A lead magnet;
• A landing page where people can go to sign up for the lead magnet and leave their email address;
• A system that can send out the lead magnet to your subscribers;
• A welcome email sequence (a sequence of emails that you send to all your new subscribers, so that they can get to know, like and trust you)

Here’s an article about how to do email marketing as a new entrepreneur, where I dive into the specifics of this, as well as which system to use.

So assuming you have your lead magnet, landing page, sequence and system in place, let’s talk about how to build an email list for free.

I will cover two main ways: passive growth, and active growth.

How to build an email list for free – passive ways

The first category of ways to build your email list for free are passive. This means that you make sure that you mention your lead magnet everywhere, and after that, you don’t have to do anything active to promote it. 

 So to passively promote your lead magnet, you can add it to places where people find you and communicate with you. Here’s a list:

1. Your email signature.
2. Your social profile covers (Facebook Profile, Facebook Page, Facebook Group, Twitter Cover, LinkedIn Cover, Youtube Cover)
3. Your social media bios (Facebook Page description, Facebook Group description, Instagram description, Twitter Bio, Linkedin Bio).
4. If you feel comfortable doing this, you can message new followers on Social Media and offer them your free download.
5. Your Pinterest bio and boards.
6. Your website (homepage, footer, navigation and blog sidebar are great places to add your lead magnet. You can also use a pop-up, but please make sure to not let it pop up in the first 30 minutes, this is super annoying and a bad customer experience).
7. Create a resources page on your website where you add useful links, including the lead magnet. 

How to build an email list for free – active ways

Above, I explained passive ways to grow your list. They will lead to a steady drip of new subscribers. If you want to grow more actively however, then it’s a great idea to also actively promote your lead magnet.

Here’s how you can do this:

1. Create posts about your lead magnet regularly on all your social profiles. Pin the posts to the top (on Facebook Page / Facebook Group / Twitter).
2. Join Facebook Groups or LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your audience and promote the lead magnet in there. This can be very powerful, BUT you need to make sure that you are following the group rules.
3. Create a blog post about the topic of your lead magnet and add the lead magnet as a download.
4. Do a guest talk on a podcast, in a Facebook Group, or on a social profile. Look out for someone who has a similar audience, but different topic.

That’s it! How to build an email list for free by promoting your lead magnet! 

What’s next?

• Read more about email marketing on my blog.
• Join my Facebook Community for coaches, healers and therapists, where I give free training on Online Marketing & Business Strategy.
• Need help with your email marketing, ideal clients or online presence? Check out my coaching.

Want to save this article? Pin it using the pin below, or the buttons on this page!